The Great Chess Game (first published on Indymedia.ie and Zerohedge.com Oct. 2012)
Everyone is aware of a multitude of problems that besets
our world, however the nature of these problems and why they exist is distorted
by the media and by governments all over the world. Our leaders, corporate heads,
military top-brass etc. all have a fairly good idea of what is really happening,
they just don’t want us – the ignorant masses known as the general
public to know what they know.
The multiple crises on this planet are caused by our insane mode of living –
one that seems to be dominated by economics. Our way of life (unfortunately
now for most of the world) depends on an ever-expanding economic system, for
if it is not expanding it is contracting.
This system was all well and good while there was plenty of capacity for continued
expansion, but unfortunately for all of us the limits of expansion are not far
off. The ‘people in the know’ are well aware of this, although they
are not going to admit to anyone outside of their ‘club’ that this
is the case, at least not in any direct or honest manner.
Capitalism requires growth and markets to exploit – in the past there
were always new markets and new people to exploit, which fueled growth and also
the resources needed to run the engine of commerce seemed inexhaustible.
At this point in time the number of new markets is shrinking, the number of
people who can be easily exploited is shrinking and the availability of resources
is shrinking. So that really doesn’t leave modern ‘civilised’
countries or coalitions of countries with a lot of options with regard to the
continued expansion of their economies.
It strikes me that there are only really three options available: 1. Expand
the planet and the resources available on it by 50% or more. 2. Reduce the demand
on resources and reduce the number of people expecting a fair deal (i.e. not
being exploited). 3. Give up on a redundant system that is destined to crash
and find a new economic paradigm. Hopefully you will realize that option 1.
is my little joke and that option 2. is in the realms of megalomaniac fantasy.
Unfortunately for us, many of the people in powerful positions in the world
are hopefully of achieving something equivalent to option 1. (e.g. colonizing
Mars) and are quite confident of achieving option 2. and hence are still not
even close to considering option 3. It seems that option 2. is the historical
precedent for solving economic woes, generally implemented through war and the
by-products of this – famine, sickness, relocation and disempowerment
etc.
If we look at the current global situation it is clear that there is a struggle
for power and resources, which is only partially viewable to the ordinary ‘man
in the street’. The intrigues and complexities of this struggle or game
are concealed from the average consumer of mainstream media. This has been the
case for a long time, which is clearly evidenced by the periodic release of
state secrets relating to events of previous decades – in some cases clandestine
activities/ambitions of up to a century ago. Despite the clear evidence that
we have been continuously lied to in the past by mainstream media and our governments,
it seems that many people do not seem to correlate that information with current
lying and propaganda.
The truth is that this struggle for dominance and control is like a giant chess
game, with USA and it’s allies/friends on one side of the board and Russia/China
and their allies/friends on the other. They represent to kings and queens of
this game and ultimately decide the strategy and the actions of their ‘pieces’.
Countries like Britain, France, Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, India
etc. represent the middle ranking pieces – they are important players
in the game, they are not instantly expendable but they are coerced or seduced
into following the game plan.
The pawns of the game are all the other minor and relatively powerless countries
that make up the world. These are all seen as expendable but at times they may
be given an inflated sense of their own worth by either or both sides in order
to achieve a goal. Of course, like a real pawn, once their purpose has been
fulfilled or they are no-longer useful they are thrown to the wolves or just
ignored.
Two perfect examples of a pawn are Afghanistan and Iraq – neither were
particularly unique strategically, in terms of resources or influential politically
or militarily. For a time Iraq seemed important but it was just a piece being
played as a piece in a much larger game. Afghanistan seemed important for a
while both to the Americans and the Soviets but (in terms of the game) again
it is just a fairly resource rich non-entity that needed to be exploited as
part of a far greater plan.
What many people in the world do not understand is that this great chess game
is about control of resources and their flow around this planet. He who controls
the oil, gas, rare-earth metals, uranium, water and food has control of everybody
else. The instability in the Middle East may appear to be related to terrorism,
the struggle for democracy or religious preferences but this is all just a smoke
screen. If we look below the surface we can easily see that this is about transit
routes of resources – in particular for oil and gas. The big boys (USA,
China and Russia) are jostling for position, their allies want in on the action
(as a kickback for helping out) and the fate of the remainder rests on the success
of the competing strategies for dominance of the board.
Unfortunately for us, this obsessive game over resources seems to completely
ignore the basic premise that we must continue to live in a world of finite
resources. Instead of deciding to give up the game and concentrate on finding
a way to remodel society in a way that we can sustain our future the game seems
to have intensified in recent decades. I would liken this to two men on the
Titanic fighting over the silver cutlery while the ship continues to sink! I
wonder at what point governments will actually wake up to the fact that these
‘traditional’ solutions can no-longer work in a world where there
is nowhere new left to colonize, nowhere new to discover and precious few new
resources to find.
Of course people pay lip-service to the ideas of a new paradigm at the UN, at
environmental summits etc. but this is really just candy-floss. The big boys
and their minions are still focusing most of their energy, political, intellectual
and creative resources on fighting to maintain their economies instead of seeking
solutions to a glaringly obvious problem.
It’s high time that the ‘superpowers’ and their allies took
a serious look at option 3. (a new economic paradigm). Once the penny drops
that our system is fatally flawed, the necessity for economic, psychological
and physical warfare becomes redundant. Once we truly accept that we cannot
have infinite growth, that our planet and human society is in danger of collapse
then it should shift our focus away from conflict towards co-operation.
Humans are selfish creatures, we all want the best for ourselves, our family,
our town, our tribe, our country – that is just part of human evolution
that has enabled us to succeed. However that competitive streak has outlived
its purpose and is in fact destroying us. The ultimate in selfishness is really
the desire to survive – don’t we all want to survive (and hopefully
prosper)? If we are going to fulfill that ultimately selfish wish then it’s
actually necessary for us to evolve beyond competing and abandon clearly failed
and destructive actions.
Co-operation is the only real hope for humanity. It’s time for the game
players to tear up the chess board and throw it away forever. And if our governments
do not want to change or listen then it is up to all of us to make sure that
they do – for our own selfish desire to live and to have a country and
a planet to live on.